Wish (Reworked)

An Awkward Celebration

 The ballroom brimmed with chatter, shouts of congratulations, and unheard whispers of anticipation. In the aftermath of every wish ceremony came a celebration for those whose greatest desires were granted and to console those that were still waiting. Several partners danced round and round the marble floor to the music of violins, while others snacked on the cookies Dahlia and her mother slaved over. Queen Amaya sat on her throne beside King Leopold, their heads bowed close together and the two exchanged smiles. Asha watched them uneasily from her place against the wall, concealed by the shadows.

"Why can't we have cookies for dinner every day?" A mouthful of chocolate chips muffled Dario's words. Asha hardly noticed her fellow apprentices approaching. She didn't break her stare even when they stood beside her and didn't even flinch when they focused their attention similarly on the Queen.

"He's so handsome," Hal gushed.

"And loud," Bazeema whispered.

"They've been cuddled up all night! She's got to pick this one!" Gabo said.

"Gabo, the Queen doesn't have to pick anyone," Dahlia reminded him. "What's wrong with the way things are?"

"Look, he needs a wife, and we need an heir. It can't get more perfect than this!"
"What about love?" Dario said before biting into another cookie.

"What about love?!" Gabo crossed his arms. "The Queen's never been in love, and who needs it? We need security! We need protection!"
"We've got all that." Dahlia pointed at Simon, chattering away with the younger knights of the queen's guard. "Simon will protect us, along with the other knights."

"Oh yeah, I feel so much safer now that Simon gets to fall asleep in the watch tower instead of the kitchen," Gabo grumbled and crammed a cookie in his mouth.

Dario mumbled with his mouth full. "At least it means less drool."

"I guess this means Simon won't be training with us anymore?" Bazeema muttered. The seven teens each gave each other varied looks of uncertainty. Apprentices came and went all their lives, but the eight of them had outlasted much of the change. Asha, Simon, and Dario's parents were charters, and Gabo's parents had been a part of the queen's court since Rosas was established. Bazeema was taken under the Queen's wing once her mother became the queen's tailor. Safi's mother and father settled on the outskirts of the kingdom but allowed their son to make his home in the castle among the other apprentices. Dahlia had been the last to join them, having only been an apprentice for four years. She and her mother came to Rosas looking for sanctuary, after escaping a revolution in their prior kingdom.

"We'll still get to see him," Dahlia reassured the group. Perhaps, she hoped to reassure herself as well. "He's gotten his wish. We should be happy for him."

Gabo turned his head back in the direction of the queen, however now he focused on a new pair. His eyebrows furrowed and an unusual concern crossed his face.

"Simon's parents don't look very happy."

The other teens shifted their eyes to Simon's mother and father. They sat at a long, wooden table reserved for the queen's star charters, though their solemn frowns stood out among the lively crowd. They glared at the back of Queen Amaya's head with narrowed eyes while they whispered in each other's ears and sipped from their goblets slowly.

"No, they don't," Dahlia's voice was low, her eyes full of worry.

Asha quietly broke away from them and made her way toward the Queen. Worry had her stomach tangled in knots, and seeing how Simon's parents looked at Queen Amaya only fueled her desire to speak with her godmother. Everything about this ceremony had gone horribly wrong. Helena and Esteban's wishes and Sabino being skipped over, now Simon's parents? She couldn't claim blame for the wishes, but Sabino and Simon were her responsibility. Had it not been for her research, perhaps no one would've been disappointed.